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Posts: 458

Shifu

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Q: Why do Americans have no staying power?

This comes from experience. Every single American colleague I've had since arriving in China has either disappeared into the night or quit their contracts very quickly. What's with that; do you notice the same with other nationalities too?

11 years 41 weeks ago in  Business & Jobs - China

 
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Posts: 1091

Shifu

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why do Americans have no staying power when it come to nailing bowling balls to there D***s they prefer not to they do not want to stay because they do not enjoy it . 

 

spend 2 minute on this site and you will no why some people will flee

HugAPanda:

Did you wanna try using English? wtf are you trying to say? Something about staying power, penises and bowling balls?

11 years 41 weeks ago
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GuilinRaf:

And why we wanna "fle"... Do you mean "flee"?

11 years 41 weeks ago
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11 years 41 weeks ago
 
Posts: 211

Governor

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I dunno.  I gotta go....

GuilinRaf:

Too late! I left!angry

11 years 41 weeks ago
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11 years 41 weeks ago
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11 years 36 weeks ago
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11 years 41 weeks ago
 
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Emperor

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Why are you picking on Americans in particular? What you should be noticing is that a certain type of person is more likely to break a contract, not just because of where they are from. I have never even thought about breaking my contract. I have been here for 9 months, and I will stay the next 3 weeks. Maybe they just don't like the place where you work.

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11 years 41 weeks ago
 
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Peasant

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its not true about all Americans , i worked with Americans and   they were good at doing their job ,and they were responsible people , and i am not sure about your colleagues  , but you cant judge all Americans like this , i think you only saw the bad working people not the good once , and i bet when you will see some good people and hardworking you will change your mind , i am not trying to prove all Americans are good or they are perfect there are good and bad people every where i just wana say you can`t judge all the Americans like that  

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11 years 41 weeks ago
 
Posts: 458

Shifu

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I'm not tarring all Americans with the same brush. Like I said, this relates only to my colleagues in China. Other Americans I've worked/studied/dated with (sic) haven't been this way at all. It's only since coming to China that I've seen this behaviour consistently repeat itself. Wondered if it was a China wide thing or a where-I-am thing.

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11 years 41 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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Could be your bad breath? 

philbravery:

Im going to give you a thumbs up

 because it is the funniest intentional thing you have ever writtensurprise

11 years 41 weeks ago
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11 years 41 weeks ago
 
Posts: 240

Governor

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I stayed, and came back.  3 out of the 4 American colleagues I have met stayed.

 

China is a radically different place from most all our homes, almost impossible to prepare for completely and to know what to expect.  And most contracts I've seen are for a year.  If you're not happy, you should head home, a year is a long time to waste.

Edit: The one who left was a totally cool person who I liked hanging out with, but she was a lesbian and I'm not sure how supportive my 2nd tier Chinese city is of that lifestyle.

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11 years 41 weeks ago
 
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Emperor

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Not American, maybe because contracts s aren't kept by the Chinese

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11 years 41 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1090

Shifu

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yian,

       Why do you ask such a stupid,prejudiced question? ANAL. That's right Ted. The Chinese are good at not honoring contracts just like the South Koreans. They're only so much toilet paper.

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11 years 36 weeks ago
 
Posts: 104

Governor

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There we go with stereotypes! I don't have any experience with how Americans conduct themselves as far as what Yian is talking about is concerned. However, I think members' general reaction to Yian's question could be a perfect answer to the kind of questions we, foreigners in China, ask about what the Chinese do here. So many questions about the lack of 'proper' culture by Chinese are asked on this forum. Most of such questions and observations are generalised....yet very few people raise their hand to protest such generalisations. If Americans and members of other nationalities can angrily protest Yian's 'generalisation', does that not point to the need to avoid generalising the cultural tendencies that we complain about the Chinese on this forum? I think it does. In the same way some members here have admonished Yian for asking a 'stupid' question or for making a sweeping  generalisation about Americans in China, the Chinese who read what we complain  about here also call our questions 'stupid'. By the way, Yian clearly asked if what he/she has been observing was just about the Americans he/she has known. It's a bit unfair, therefore, to bash his/her question as a stupid generalisation. Just my opinion.

GuilinRaf:

I agree. Further down, Yian points out that he is referring only to his American colleagues, not ALL Americans.

11 years 36 weeks ago
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LAR:

Bona,

          I appreciate your comments. However, the OP's original question is "Why do Americans have no staying power?" I find that offensive as I'm sure that other Americans do as well. :( If the question had been worded "Why do some Americans have no staying power?" that would be different and maybe more acceptable. Just my opinion.

 

Lorenzo

11 years 34 weeks ago
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11 years 36 weeks ago
 
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i read through all the forum websites for daveeslcafe.com for china , at the time over 300 pages before i came to china from america, so i knew exactly what i was going to get, though at times the stories did seem like nightmares, i now experience many nightmares here with teachers and schools , have a good network of friends and the teachers that leave usually have other problems at home also.

saw 7 teachers leave in one year my first year here, been here 3 years, one had family issues , another thought she could pay her credit cards off working here, should have gone to korea for that one,

most do not do good research before they arrive here

for younger teachers , the strict contract clause that the school is responsible for your safety and security and this means the girl cant spend the night with you , she might cut your throat, is a little  hard for young hormonal males to handle , but patience and you get around most obstacles, for the young ladies not in a top tier city the cleanliness gets to be a problem,

my biggest gripe with teachers is calling in sick , i will get flamed bad for this , but i have never missed a day of work and yes i take my flu to work and you can tell me to leave but your not gonna say i am not reliable.

americans dont save much money and i think some get here broke and the schools dont always consider this upon arrival. many schools pay you 2 weeks after your first month is complete so if your broke it will take you at least 3 months to save enough to leave. i cant remember how many skype calls ive heard from young teachers telling friends in the states , come to china , beautiful girls and cheap booze, come on over , so they get a referral fee of 1000 rmb. i could say that younger americans are not as productive as my generation but i would get flamed for that, so i would just say im a workaholic that grew up poor and payed my own way and served my country and have low self esteem on maslows hiarchy of needs, when your poor you always think your poor , so i can speak for others because i am a f.......d up individual. i came here to get some of my money back from taxes to interest to treasuries to chinese government. lol

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11 years 36 weeks ago
 
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Governor

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From my personal experience with expats working/living other countries..
Forums like this was the way to make contacts and meet people in the real life, after work..have BBQ, have dinner, play Bridge, outing to see some concert or Opera and so on
(granting that they were living nearby)  The best in this department are 
(I'm not talking about China but expats in General world-wide)
Germans, Scandinavians, Aussies, Canadians New Zealanders and to certain degree Brits (Brits especially in the Middle East) bonds were made for long time, some people were on contracts, so it was 6 months to up to 2 years affair but in many cases for much longer time.
Americans, usually hooked up to Aussies and Canadians and Brits not the other way around..My point is that he initiative rarely came from the Americans...Dunno why.

Size of the given country plays a huge factor..China is big..same Indonesia..the whole Archipelago is like over 3000 miles or 5000 km long...chances very slim to meet..but Jakarta was the most populated with expats..Some people were working in remote areas where they were working in the oil or mining industries...These guys and gals had very strong bond locally regardless of nationality...
Also in your case it could be that the some of your friends work, involves moving  around the country to  overview business projects.
Teachers usually stay in one place, and they usually were very active..family meets, some had kids so they could play together...
I don't see why it would be so different in China imo.

Leaving job contacts was happening very rarely..no matter what nationality..If it did happen it was usually due to family emergencies. or other personal reasons... so don't know why is so different in China..if one commits then they fulfill their obligations..

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11 years 36 weeks ago
 
Posts: 14

Governor

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Because most of times, Americans don't take shit from nobody, most of the cases are the Chinese schools somehow don't stick to the contracts, there are hidden terms during the contract time...especially the private schools, driven by the desire of more profits, they can or may just change their versions with excuses for what they are doing to screw you.. like change  your schedule without timely information....they delay paying your salary,they schedule your classes tight enough leaving you no time to breathe...

One guy from America came with a promised of 6000 yuan per month, but at the second month, he was told his salary would be half of that amount,the reason was his class didn't appeal to get expected number of students, he ended up forcing them to release him going...

Most of Foreign teachers that I know try to understand Chinese way to do business, they don't get mean but try to get along, they even swallow minor matters that pinch them sometimes.. I don't believe they are prick or try to be that way since they are not at home..China needs to learn a lot and foreigners need to learn about China, too.

 

LAR:

dressways,

                    I appreciate your comments. You're right, Americans don't take shit from anybody! Some/many of the South Korean employers are the same..try to pull the wool over foreign teachers in so many ways! I can't tell you how many times I read about foreign teachers in South Korea not being paid! :( Or, being physically threatened or assaulted! :( Or, being kicked out of their housing with little or no notice! :( * ALL due to a*****e S. Korean employers.

11 years 35 weeks ago
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LAR:

Hi dressways,

                        Thank you for your kind,supportive words of Americans! I for one appreciate it.

11 years 34 weeks ago
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11 years 35 weeks ago
 
Posts: 448

Shifu

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Maybe it is you.

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11 years 35 weeks ago
 
Posts: 19

Governor

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Yian says that every American that she/he has worked with has left before contract ends. She/he is not singling out all Americans, just the few that Yian worked with. I worked with a man from Belgium, a man from Nepal, a man from Mexico and a young couple from America. The woman was from Chicago and the man was from Nigeria. This particular American couple were nasty. They broke every rule of the school and every social rule for getting along with others. They fought each other often and disappeared for days at a time and finally left the school. Not all Americans. Just these two. The rest of us have moved on to other schools but we will be friends for life. The Americans that worked with us were a bad experience and give bad 'face' to foreigners in general.

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11 years 34 weeks ago
 
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11 years 34 weeks ago
 
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